I want to translate "Using the knife on these types of surfaces will dull the knife." This I find to be difficult grammatically as well. However, I'm not sure how to say "dull" in Mandarin, and google doesn't provide much help.
2 Answers
Dull (adjective) as in 'a dull knife' is 钝 in Mandarin. There is not a two-character version for it.
Dull (vt.) as in 'dull the knife' is 使..变钝, literally 'make .. become dull'.
Example of 钝 (adjective):
It's impossible to cut a pineapple with such a dull knife.
用一把这么钝的刀子切菠萝是不可能的。
To translate your sentence, which is also an example of 使..变钝:
Using the knife on these types of surfaces will dull the knife.
在这些类型的表面上用刀会使刀变钝。
Related words:
- (Knife or blade) sharp (adjective): 快 or 锋利.
快 must be used in the same sentence as the noun (刀), otherwise it doesn't mean 'sharp'. 锋利 can be used standalone.
- Sharpen the knife (V+O): 磨刀.
An example using all these words:
刀子用多了会变钝，磨一磨就又变快了。
Knife becomes dull after some use. Burnish it and it will be sharp again.
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You can certainly stick another character to front and make it two character, such as 粗钝. Of course, the core part is 钝. Sep 26, 2013 at 23:16
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@user58955 Sure but 粗钝 is not a common word and can't replace 钝 in most circumstances.– NS.X.Sep 26, 2013 at 23:20
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@user58955 Indeed. This answer is speaking in the context of OP's sentence:)– NS.X.Sep 26, 2013 at 23:23
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Actually, according to your translation, 变钝 is an acceptable word, literally "become dull". "在这些表面上用刀会使它变钝。" Sep 27, 2013 at 2:02
You may say
磨钝一把刀
pinyin: mo2 dun4 yi4 ba3 dau1
Explanation:
磨钝: make something dull.
一: a
把: classifier of knife.
刀: knife.
